May Update from the Jerusalem Foundation

May Update from the Jerusalem Foundation

The month of May was a busy time at the Jerusalem Foundation:

As the May flowers bloomed and cherries came into season, we ushered in a new spring festival: Ha’Mishteh, the Banquet. The culinary literary festival attracted 1,500 audience members for 3 days of events at Mishkenot Sha’ananim. Highlights included: a tasting tour in the footsteps of Israeli Nobel Prize Laureate S.Y. Agnon, a concert with one of the judges on Israeli Masterchef, and an evening modelled on Plato’s Symposium.

In honor of Jerusalem Day, we launched “50 Years: 50 Faces”, a series of films produced by the Tower of David Museum that celebrate the city’s diversity through the stories of its residents. Click here to see the videos.

This project was part of “Jerusalemite Day of Diversity”, a special initiative to celebrate Jerusalem’s rich history with events throughout the city. Lego-building in Zion Square, Hebrew-Arabic performances, and a young families parade were just a few of the activities on offer.

We also joined C.A.T.A.M.O.N. dance company’s 5th birthday celebration at Beit Alliance, and are proud to support its from Jaffa to Agrippas festival, which brings public dance performances to Mahane Yehuda.

Jerusalem is a student city, home to over 38,000 students of higher education. These are the young people who will build the city’s future. This year, we awarded 635,000 NIS in scholarships to 120 students, in a ceremony that celebrated the students and their accomplishments. A student who teaches music to under-privileged students performed a duet with one of her pupils, while two students from the Beit Tzafafa neighborhood received recognition for the women’s empowerment programs they are running for teenage girls in the neighborhood. The scholarships were made possible by friends of the Jerusalem Foundation from around the world, including the Worms family of the UK and Israel, the estate of Louis Edelstein of the United States, the Rein family of Switzerland and Israel, and the Cheshin family of Israel.

Jerusalem must be a city for all of its residents, including those with special needs. That’s why we were especially excited to inaugurate the Toni Elyashar Therapeutic Center – SHEKEL at Hebrew University’s Haruv Children's Campus at Mt. Scopus, which will provide services for 400 Jerusalemites with special needs. Oded Elyashar attended the ceremony, along with our President Yohanna Arbib Perugia and our CEO Anat Tzur, and SHEKEL President Lihi Lapid. The center stands as a lasting tribute to Toni’s memory.

We were also excited to advance a program to upgrade the facilities and expand the programming at the Paley Arts Center, as part of our ongoing efforts to improve arts and culture infrastructure in east Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is a fount of inspiration for visitors from around the world; we enjoyed welcoming a group of arts students from Concordia University, in Canada, who will create and exhibit works inspired by their trip to Jerusalem.

As we usher in the month of June, we’re excited to see what else the spring has in store.

Wishing you a happy and productive month ahead, with days as delicious as cherries, in which all your dreams come to blossom.